I'm a kid who golfs with my dad's friends all the time, and they're all in their 60s and they tell me great stories of "the glory days"when they used to race their chargers,camaros, mustangs etc... Obviously their stories have all been told to me, and I'd love to hear about the fun you guys used to have when you were young! Obviously doesn't have to be about racing, but anything that you would like to share would be awesome!

well, I'm only 40 so the only thing I can add is how much more affordable it was to drive when I was a teen. .69 a gallon gas, much cheaper insurance as everyone didn't have a lawyer on retainer to sue for 100k cause you bumped them at 5mph. and even cars were much cheaper as you didn't have all the mandatory safety, emissions, and MPG requirements that you do now. back then it only had to have seat belts. CD players were just hitting the market and might have been in top end luxury models and even AC was an option when you bought. you had to pay extra to get it, and the same was true with things like power windows, doors, cruise and most other things that you find standard today. made it much cheaper back then for an entry level buyer. you now also have the problem of insanely crowded roads, and money grubbing towns, cities, and counties that are looking for every ticket they can get.

was definitely a different attitude towards cars and driving 25yrs ago. back then it was fun, now it's more of a necessary evil.

well, I'm only 40 so the only thing I can add is how much more affordable it was to drive when I was a teen. .69 a gallon gas, much cheaper insurance as everyone didn't have a lawyer on retainer to sue for 100k cause you bumped them at 5mph. and even cars were much cheaper as you didn't have all the mandatory safety, emissions, and MPG requirements that you do now. back then it only had to have seat belts. CD players were just hitting the market and might have been in top end luxury models and even AC was an option when you bought. you had to pay extra to get it, and the same was true with things like power windows, doors, cruise and most other things that you find standard today. made it much cheaper back then for an entry level buyer. you now also have the problem of insanely crowded roads, and money grubbing towns, cities, and counties that are looking for every ticket they can get.

was definitely a different attitude towards cars and driving 25yrs ago. back then it was fun, now it's more of a necessary evil.

well, I'm only 40 so the only thing I can add is how much more affordable it was to drive when I was a teen. .69 a gallon gas, much cheaper insurance as everyone didn't have a lawyer on retainer to sue for 100k cause you bumped them at 5mph. and even cars were much cheaper as you didn't have all the mandatory safety, emissions, and MPG requirements that you do now. back then it only had to have seat belts. CD players were just hitting the market and might have been in top end luxury models and even AC was an option when you bought. you had to pay extra to get it, and the same was true with things like power windows, doors, cruise and most other things that you find standard today. made it much cheaper back then for an entry level buyer. you now also have the problem of insanely crowded roads, and money grubbing towns, cities, and counties that are looking for every ticket they can get.

was definitely a different attitude towards cars and driving 25yrs ago. back then it was fun, now it's more of a necessary evil.

Haha the guys always tell me that when they were kids, if it ran they drove it! And if the piece of shit crapped out, they pushed it to the side of the road, ripped the tags off, and left it!

Used to buy those cars used super cheap back in the day.
Flashback to 1974......

150 bucks got me a 69 Nova with a 307 and 3 speed , which cloned into an SS.
Guy at work was going to trade it in- it needed a front fender.
Air shocks, chrome reverse rims, and the SS trim , with a fresh lacquer backyard paint job, all for under 500 bucks.
A sweet cruiser.

well, I'm only 40 so the only thing I can add is how much more affordable it was to drive when I was a teen. .69 a gallon gas, much cheaper insurance as everyone didn't have a lawyer on retainer to sue for 100k cause you bumped them at 5mph. and even cars were much cheaper as you didn't have all the mandatory safety, emissions, and MPG requirements that you do now. back then it only had to have seat belts. CD players were just hitting the market and might have been in top end luxury models and even AC was an option when you bought. you had to pay extra to get it, and the same was true with things like power windows, doors, cruise and most other things that you find standard today. made it much cheaper back then for an entry level buyer. you now also have the problem of insanely crowded roads, and money grubbing towns, cities, and counties that are looking for every ticket they can get.

was definitely a different attitude towards cars and driving 25yrs ago. back then it was fun, now it's more of a necessary evil.

I couldn't agree more! I am about the same age and I remember gas as low as 89 cents a gallon. I remember going to cruises all over the place though. Back then, cars were a major part of our lives. My own son is 17 and has no interest in them. It seems most just want the transportation and big subwoofers. LOL

I will be glad to talk about "Glory days", I worked at a "Service Station" when I was in high school. Every car that pulled up to the pump was greeted by me, I pumped your gas, cleaned your windshield, and offered to check your oil and tires. Get this, during a price war locally, we sold regular gasoline for 19.9 cents/gallon.
At 15, I worked 60 hours a week for $1.15/hour while going to school. I bought a '55 Chevy Bel-Air as my first car with my money. Not a cent provided by my parents. Before I turned 17, I got the chance to buy a '69 Camaro from a neighbor going through a divorce, it only had break-in miles on it and I was the happiest kid in the world, again paid for 100% with money I earned.
My buddies all set about to get themselves a Camaro after I got mine, and our senior year at school we all had Camaros and parked them in a row at school. One of my buddies was a spoiled rotten "only child" and his parents bought him a "Baldwin Motion" Camaro. Very few who read this will even know what a "Baldwin Motion" Camaro is, briefly: Take a stock Camaro @ $3,200, then put a 427 aluminum block fire breathing motor in it, Muncie Trans, Posi-rear end, subframe connectors, etc. for the add-on price of $4,000! Total cost $7,200, sound cheap but in those days it would be the same as paying $32,000 for a new car and adding $40,000 in add-on equip for a total of $72,000.
We all did engine builds and boy did we have fun with those cars. Getting pulled over by the cops was a frequent occurence, and street racing was commonplace. Today you would need a lawyer to keep you out of jail for the stuff we did back then. My how times have changed.
I was lucky enough to live in the "Muscle Car" era, where the cars you pass daily would be:Nova, Chevelle, Camaro, GTX, GTO, Superbird, SuperBee, Mustang, Cuda, Challenger, etc. Those were the days for car lovers!

Flashback to 1982, my graduation present was $500 to buy a car. I bought a 1971 Impala 2dr couple and had $200 left over after the purchase for lots and lots of gas at a whopping $.98 I think it was. You didn't go far on a gallon with it either, somewhere around about 12 MPG, not sure of the exact mileage. It had a 350 CI making somewhere in the neighborhood of 245 HP. This year was the start of the HP decline by '73 or '74 this same engine was only producing 165 HP. Speeding tickets were cheap by today's means but back then 64 in a 55 got you a ticket for $27.50 but then I worked for a farmer for $4/hr so there went just over a half days wages. It has been a couple years since I have had a ticket, knock on wood, but that same ticket is about 5 times or more than what it was then. We didn't do much drag racing then since I didn't have much of a performance car anyway. Law Enforcement were starting to crack down harder on exhibition drive so that made it harder to get away with having fun.

I will be glad to talk about "Glory days", I worked at a "Service Station" when I was in high school. Every car that pulled up to the pump was greeted by me, I pumped your gas, cleaned your windshield, and offered to check your oil and tires. Get this, during a price war locally, we sold regular gasoline for 19.9 cents/gallon.
At 15, I worked 60 hours a week for $1.15/hour while going to school. I bought a '55 Chevy Bel-Air as my first car with my money. Not a cent provided by my parents. Before I turned 17, I got the chance to buy a '69 Camaro from a neighbor going through a divorce, it only had break-in miles on it and I was the happiest kid in the world, again paid for 100% with money I earned.
My buddies all set about to get themselves a Camaro after I got mine, and our senior year at school we all had Camaros and parked them in a row at school. One of my buddies was a spoiled rotten "only child" and his parents bought him a "Baldwin Motion" Camaro. Very few who read this will even know what a "Baldwin Motion" Camaro is, briefly: Take a stock Camaro @ $3,200, then put a 427 aluminum block fire breathing motor in it, Muncie Trans, Posi-rear end, subframe connectors, etc. for the add-on price of $4,000! Total cost $7,200, sound cheap but in those days it would be the same as paying $32,000 for a new car and adding $40,000 in add-on equip for a total of $72,000.
We all did engine builds and boy did we have fun with those cars. Getting pulled over by the cops was a frequent occurence, and street racing was commonplace. Today you would need a lawyer to keep you out of jail for the stuff we did back then. My how times have changed.
I was lucky enough to live in the "Muscle Car" era, where the cars you pass daily would be:Nova, Chevelle, Camaro, GTX, GTO, Superbird, SuperBee, Mustang, Cuda, Challenger, etc. Those were the days for car lovers!

Awesome man! Sweet story, sometimes I yearn that I was born back in that era, I too work a lot, 36 hours a week while still balancing school! That's how I was able to buy my baby, now all I need is for other kids to get some too! Thanks again for sharing!

1974
We had a cop in our village who would regularly wait around the corner from our homes and trail us.
We lost him so many times it's still a joke among my buddies.

Once I passed an LEO after ripping a motorcycle (not the same LEO).
I pulled down a side street . I jumped out, walked around the block, could hear the bike and squad circling from the next side street. When I got back to my car the officer was parked and feeling the hood of my car to see how hot it was
I turned around and walked the block again

Ran 1/4 and entered an underpass slowing down then. It was exactly 1/4 from the signal to the underpass.
Cop passed us so fast at the bottom his car was wagging as he tried to slow. We hung the next ralph and ducked into a driveway at an apartment complex. That took ~45 minutes before we could leave. It was the whole force after us I think.

I'm a kid who golfs with my dad's friends all the time, and they're all in their 60s and they tell me great stories of "the glory days"when they used to race their chargers,camaros, mustangs etc... Obviously their stories have all been told to me, and I'd love to hear about the fun you guys used to have when you were young! Obviously doesn't have to be about racing, but anything that you would like to share would be awesome!

PS. I know you're still young at heart!

Well I was a kid in the 60s not old enuff to drive but the streets were full of American hotrods. Every kid 16 to 40 something seemed to be driving something hopped up from the 50s 60s and early 70s. Started to wind down in the early 80s. In the early 60s the style was a lowered rear to give the car a long low lead sled style, then in the late 60s and 70s most cars had the jacked up in the back look to accomodate wide tires and to give it more down force in the 1/4 mile. I guess I was lucky enough to experience that time even though my first muscle car was 6 years old when I got it in 75 when I got my lisc. Also noticed there was no road rage like there is today, sure people got pissed but not like today. Bottom line is cars were cool then and I remember admiring them peering from the backseat with my nose against the glass. 90% of the cars today are just hi tec bores that sound like bumblebees.

I was just a little too young to be driving in the 60's, but man I sure remember those days...American cars were all you saw...Imports were no-where around....Gas was cheap, and mpg was who cared...lol...
Hot rods, drag-cars were all sitting in driveways being worked on by the owners in their own garage...All us kids were given rides and "helped" out...lol...Older guys were much more tolerant of younger kids as I remember it...They'd send us on "missions" to the local junk-yards to get/"obtain" car parts...dash knobs, taillights, hood ornaments...lol...It was a blast....

Went to the drag-strip practically every weekend...Sometimes even rode our bikes to the end with the sand trap, just left them their, snuck into the track, rode home at mid-nite when it was over...lol..

By the time I started to drive, the glory days were over...gas crisis (Imagine not even being able to get gas)....Smog checks and emissions crap on the motors were a definite bummer...

In 1975 the first car I looked at was a 57 plymouth, the guy was selling it for $50. My brother took me to see it, he had a 65 Ford Galaxie 500 with America Racing Mag wheels. When we got there the owner hooked up the battery and turned it over one time and the engine seized up. Didnt get that one. Also looked at a 66 T-Bird, brought a mechanic with us who was a family friend, did a test drive but it had a shift problem. My mechanic crawled underneath to take a look and found the vacuum line came loose and fixed it and then drove like a dream. Then all of a sudden the seller decided not to sell it.

Great thread CamaroJoe, but man, it's making me feel really old. I don't know how many times I've said to myself... I wish I could have 35 years of my life back. shrinkdoc, I think I need to setup a counselling session!

I worked at a gas station from '76 - '78 and I drove a '72 Ford Maverick. The hi-test pump had 103 octane leaded gas so I'd fill up my car every Friday with 103. The Maverick was only a 6-banger, but it sure seemed to like that stuff!

Used to buy those cars used super cheap back in the day.
Flashback to 1974......

150 bucks got me a 69 Nova with a 307 and 3 speed , which cloned into an SS.
Guy at work was going to trade it in- it needed a front fender.
Air shocks, chrome reverse rims, and the SS trim , with a fresh lacquer backyard paint job, all for under 500 bucks.
A sweet cruiser.

I 1975 I sold my hand me down 65 Barracuda for $250, and purchased a 69 Road Runner for $600, kept it until the late 80s and sold it for $1900.

Haha the guys always tell me that when they were kids, if it ran they drove it! And if the piece of shit crapped out, they pushed it to the side of the road, ripped the tags off, and left it!

depending on the car, yes. escorts, chevette's, omni's and a few other were what people called throw away cars. you bought them cheap (new were only 5k base model), drove them till they died, and then threw them away. you didn't bother fixing them.

I will be glad to talk about "Glory days", I worked at a "Service Station" when I was in high school. Every car that pulled up to the pump was greeted by me, I pumped your gas, cleaned your windshield, and offered to check your oil and tires. Get this, during a price war locally, we sold regular gasoline for 19.9 cents/gallon.
At 15, I worked 60 hours a week for $1.15/hour while going to school. I bought a '55 Chevy Bel-Air as my first car with my money. Not a cent provided by my parents. Before I turned 17, I got the chance to buy a '69 Camaro from a neighbor going through a divorce, it only had break-in miles on it and I was the happiest kid in the world, again paid for 100% with money I earned.
My buddies all set about to get themselves a Camaro after I got mine, and our senior year at school we all had Camaros and parked them in a row at school. One of my buddies was a spoiled rotten "only child" and his parents bought him a "Baldwin Motion" Camaro. Very few who read this will even know what a "Baldwin Motion" Camaro is, briefly: Take a stock Camaro @ $3,200, then put a 427 aluminum block fire breathing motor in it, Muncie Trans, Posi-rear end, subframe connectors, etc. for the add-on price of $4,000! Total cost $7,200, sound cheap but in those days it would be the same as paying $32,000 for a new car and adding $40,000 in add-on equip for a total of $72,000.
We all did engine builds and boy did we have fun with those cars. Getting pulled over by the cops was a frequent occurence, and street racing was commonplace. Today you would need a lawyer to keep you out of jail for the stuff we did back then. My how times have changed.
I was lucky enough to live in the "Muscle Car" era, where the cars you pass daily would be:Nova, Chevelle, Camaro, GTX, GTO, Superbird, SuperBee, Mustang, Cuda, Challenger, etc. Those were the days for car lovers!

Yeh...street racing was almost expected back then. There was a long stretch of road that was on the edge of our development that lead to the other side of the development that pretty much served as a dragstrip even when there was no one around to race, people just normally floored it when they turned on to that street, god forbid two hotrods hit that street at the same time...if so it was on. I just drove by the old hood about a month ago after many years and noticed that they now have speed bumps every 50 yards or so.

When I was a little kid in the early or mid 60s a friend of my father used to drive by our house who had an early 1930s car. Can't remember the make but it was all stock and regular transportation but I think he also had another car that was more modern. I remember my father calling it a Tin Lizzy.

I was lucky enough to live in the "Muscle Car" era, where the cars you pass daily would be:Nova, Chevelle, Camaro, GTX, GTO, Superbird, SuperBee, Mustang, Cuda, Challenger, etc. Those were the days for car lovers!

Yes, same here. What started it for me was a ride with my g/f and her g/f and date in a 64 GTO, (goat). Next year ('66) landed a career path job right out of HS and bought a 67 goat. Later a 69 Ram air III and the sad end with a 72.

A lot of young guys working with me and we all had some muscle. 396SS, Chevelle 325 or 350 hp 327 sleeper, Vett, another SS, several superbees and a good friend with a Hemi cuda that we road in a lot. Cuda was tops for the stock crowd. All had high lift cams and real nice sounding/loud exhaust...no after market required...

You would meet for the evening and load up and just cruise the drive-ins etc. Not out much during the week as everyone worked. Mainly Sat night. The girls liked the cars as much as the guys.

No road racing, ie thru traffic, lane changes etc...just some red light drags to the next light as traffic was thin at best or not there after 10....serious drags were at the track or some were done on deserted back roads with stoppers at both ends...

In one small town near by, the rail track was not used at night, so we would put the car on the track and just idle along in 1st or 2nd gear...no steering required except at road crossings...like a sail boat, a real nice quiet ride..people on the hood etc...

As Viet Nam war was in full go and you could be drafted the next week and dead in less than a year, the cops were/seemed more tolerant unless you were just a total dumb ass and asking for it.

Really fun car times, except for Nam...the engines had tons of torque and you could cruise in 3rd from light to light as the Tq was enough to take off in 3rd...oh and no safety nannies, it was all on you...

Oh I could go on, but one thing..except for the stang,cuda,camaro/firebird, these were large cars and room for four was ample and not crunched....so cruising with four or road trips were fun..(my only complaint with the gen 5 not to mention no hardtop)

And The best for last!... Hardtops! no B-pillar!!.....if you have not seen the look or ridden in a 2dr hardtop with all four windows down you need to get an oldie and enjoy....Mercedes is the only one I know that now makes a hardtop, e-550 coupe i think..

Bought a 1965 Chevelle. Trashed it and then bought a 1966 GTO Convertible as I was making decent money by then.

I can remember putting 60 cents of gas in it to go see my girlfriend $5 would give me 1/2 of a tank. There were muscle cars everywhere.

My uncle had a 1970 hemi Cuda convertible (one of 5 four speeds). It was the king of the town. It sat in our driveway for sale for $3850. Never sold. He traded it in the late eighties for $140,000 plus a fully restored fully documented 440 six pack challenger convertible. Some Florida zillionaire bought it and flew Galen Govier out here to check it over. Car is worth 3 - 5 million today. I don't know where it is these days.

And The best for last!... Hardtops! no B-pillar!!.....if you have not seen the look or ridden in a 2dr hardtop with all four windows down you need to get an oldie and enjoy....Mercedes is the only one I know that now makes a hardtop, e-550 coupe i think..

I can remember 29.9 cents for Sunoco 260
Full up on a Friday night go to "connecting Higway" ( New York- google it!)
And go street racing . No road rage, lots of cars & girls who
Liked hot cars, the memories